There has been an overwhelming amount of unsubstantiated rhetoric coming from the left about the alleged "failed Bush policy" in Iraq. I say "unsubstantiated rhetoric" because whether the liberal left wants to admit it or not the policy being employed in Iraq is US policy, not just Bush policy – just as it was US policy and not Clinton policy to balk at taking custody of Osama bin Laden from the Sudanese. And I say "alleged" because by all first hand accounts the "failed Bush policy" seems to be working.

The liberal left in this country and around the world just can't get enough of their war of words. They argue semantics and innuendo, cherry-picking the facts when pontificating for the media and like-minded crowds. But call on them to provide facts, call on them to defend their slanderous statements, and you can expect, "Well, you know what I mean," or some other innocuous generalization that allows them to keep a scant scintilla of credibility at the expense of a much more accurate picture of the truth.

Barack Obama (D-IL), the new darling of the Democratic Party, whom I might add never had an Oreo thrown at him, recently scolded the White House for what he termed "shameful attempts to silence dissent about the war." He did so while proposing a gradual pull-out of American troops from Iraq throughout 2006. Of course, one has to wonder when the freshman senator attained the stature and ethical superiority to "scold" anyone, but that's beside the point.

Much to Senator Obama's chagrin I would imagine, the facts offer quite a different picture where the truth of the matter is concerned.

President Bush, Vice President Cheney and just about every other voice from the "government-over-politics" contingent in Washington DC have literally held press conferences completely devoted to saying that voicing dissent is good for the country and that they welcome it. What they are calling the bloviators of the liberal left on is their use of non-truths, innuendo and depictions of "reality" that are incomplete. To put it simply, when the liberal left manufactures the truth, as they have become prone to do, those who believe the truth still matters have begun calling them on it.

As for Obama's grand plan of decreasing troop strength through 2006, this is where the political opportunism of the left is truly "outed" as outrageous.

It has always been the strategy of the US government (for you leftists out there read Bush policy) to remain in Iraq until that country's own forces are capable of providing adequate security for their fledgling government. That goal, contrary to what Senators Ted "I Couldn't Let My Fingers Get Pruney" Kennedy and John "That's Not Heinz Ketchup" Kerry, and those in the liberally biased media would have you believe, is being met.

Anthony H. Cordesman, who holds the Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, testified on November 9, 2005 before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary that great progress is being made by the Iraqi military. As reported by United Press International:

A Shiite Iraqi soldier rides in the back of an American Humvee in Saadah, Iraq, eight miles from Syria on November 27

- There are now 88 Iraqi army and special operations battalions conducting combat operations against the enemy, an increase of nine since July.

- Of the 88 operational units, 36 are assessed as being "in the lead" or fully independent, a 50% increase since July.

- There are 28 Special Police Force battalions capable of combat operations, an increase of 13 since the last report.

- Since July, Iraqi forces have taken responsibility for security in several areas of Iraq and now have the lead in one Iraqi province, roughly 87 square miles of Baghdad and over 450 square miles in other provinces.

- More than 87,000 soldiers, sailors, and airmen have now been trained and equipped, an increase of 10,000 since the last report.

- A total of 68,800 police have been trained and equipped, an increase of 5,500 since the last reporting period. These work alongside 35,500 other Ministry of Interior forces.

Overall, this represents a 12% increase in Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Interior forces trained and equipped for counter-insurgency operations since July 2005.

Add to these impressive gains in military independence and police capability the unarguable facts that:

- Iraq has held two national elections where millions of liberated Iraqis braved hours in unending lines outside polling places, doing so in the face of Abu Musab al Zarqawi's threat of death to those who participated in the election process.

- The Iraqi government has overcome many of the traditional obstacles to democratic rule in the Middle East and has adopted a Constitution based on democratic principles.

- Of the 18 Iraqi provinces, unrest exists in only 3, all of them inhabited by the previously empowered minority Sunni Arab population.

To borrow a line from the movie A Few Good Men, these are the facts and they are indisputable.

When one looks at these facts and disregards all of the opportunistic anti-war, liberal left gibberish that is being championed by the mainstream, agenda-driven media and their billionaire benefactors it is hard to see where the US policy in Iraq has failed and it is hard to ignore the tremendous amount of progress that has been made in such a short period of time.

I suppose if the good senators from Massachusetts and their compatriots from the Left Coast wanted to be fair they would listen to what the Iraqi people are saying. Then, the fact that Iraqi citizens can now voice their opinions at all without fearing they'll have their heads sawn off screams that this isn't a failed policy in action; this is a full blown, legitimate liberation.

One has to wonder why the left is so scared to let it happen! Politics perhaps?